FCC is about to propose definitive rules that could have major repercussions for the entire web. See Mashable’s posting, VICTORY: FCC to Mandate Net Neutrality for the Web.. I’m for a free and open internet, but not sure the Net Neutrality bandwagon will get us there. To me the Net Neutrality cause will result in more regulations. We do not even have a problem yet. The real problem for U.S. is internet is slow and expensive comparatively. Let us fix that first.
PBS had a special on Net Neutrality years ago and really things have not changed that much. I applaud PBS for bringing this issue up on National TV, but I found their coverage lacking. The Digg.com posting below describes what they covered.
Digg.com posts, “What exactly is net neutrality, and why does it seem to have everyone from Google and Yahoo! to Verizon and AT&T concerned? At 9pm tonight on most PBS stations, Moyers on America discusses the future of the Internet, including efforts by big business to buck the network-neutrality movement and why America lags behind other countries in broadband.”
I felt PBS had an overall bias for Net Neutrality and did not focus on the right problem. The Net Neutrality issue is all about whether the Government should regulate internet carriers like they regulate common carrier transportation companies. I think the real issue is what are we going to do to get our internet infrastructure upgraded to be comparable or faster than countries like Japan and Korea.
This is ridiculous that the U.S. internet is slower and more expensive that many other countries. You can blame Big Telcom and Big Cable, but what are we going to do to get comparable or better internet service than other countries?
PBS did bring up about Lafayette, LA where they are building their own internet. The problem with municipal initiatives is state and federal Governments are not necessarily supportive of these initiatives.
State and the Federal Government either need to get out of the way or come up with a viable solution for us to have cheap, fast internet. This is getting lost in the Net Neutrality dialog where everybody is focused on a Net Neutrality which has not yet become a real issue yet.
I’m starting to think that the Net Neutrality is too driven on both sides by special interest, and distracting us from the real problem – slow, expensive internet. Why is Net Neutrality the biggest issue, but there is no significant National dialog on how we are going to fix our slow, expensive internet.
We may need Net Neutrality regulation at some point, but let us fix the real problem that faces all of us today – an internet infrastructure that is slow and expensive.
